1. 叙述的人称

　　英语的记叙文一般是以第一或第三人称的角度来叙述的。用第一称表示的是由叙述者亲眼所见、亲耳所闻的经历。它的优点在于能把故事的情节通过“我”来传达给读者，使人读后感到真实可信，如身临其境。如：

　　the other day， i was driving along the street. suddenly， a car lost its control and ran directly towards me fast. i was so frightened that i quickly turned to the left side. but it was too late. the car hit my bike and i fell off it.

　　用第三人称叙述，优点在于叙述者不受“我”活动范围以内的人和事物的限制，而是通过作者与读者之外的第三者，直接把故事中的情节展现在读者面前，文章的客观性很强。如：

　　little tom was going to school with an umbrella， for it was raining hard. on the way， he saw an old woman walking in the rain with nothing to cover. tom went up to the old woman and wanted to share the umbrella with her， but he was too short. what could he do？ then he had a good idea.

　　2. 动词的时态

　　在记叙文中，记和叙都离不开动词。所以动词出现率最高，且富于变化。记叙文中用得最多的是动词的过去的，这是英语记叙文区别于汉语记叙文的关键之处。英语写作的优美之处就在于这些动词时态的变化，正是这一点才使得所记、所叙有鲜活的动态感、鲜明的层次感和立体感。

　　3. 叙述的顺序

　　记叙一件事要有一定的顺序。无论是顺叙、倒叙、插叙还是补叙，都要让读者能弄清事情的来龙去脉。顺叙最容易操作，较容易给读者提供有关事情的空间和时间线索。但这种方法也容易使文章显得平铺直叙，读起来平淡乏味。倒叙、插叙、补叙等叙述方法能有效地提高文章的结构效果，让所叙之事跌宕起伏，使读者在阅读时思维产生较大的跳跃，从而为文章所吸引，深入其中。但这些方法如果使用不当，则容易弄巧成拙，使文章结构散乱，头绪不清，让读者不知所云。

　　4. 叙述的过渡

　　过渡在上下文中起着承上启下、融会贯通的作用。过渡往往用在地点转移或时间、事件转换以及由概括说明到具体叙述时。如：

　　in my summer holidays， i did a lot of things. apart form doing my homework， reading an english novel， watching tv and doing some housework， i went on a trip to qingdao. it is really a beautiful city. there are many places of interest to see. but what impressed me most was the sunrise.

　　the next morning i got up early. i was very happy because it was a fine day. by the time i got to the beach， the clouds on the horizon were turning red. in a little while， a small part of the sun was gradually appearing. the sun was very red， not shining. it rose slowly. at last it broke through the red clouds and jumped above the sea， just like a deep-red ball. at the same time the clouds and the sea water became red and bright.

　　what a moving and unforgettable scene！

　　5. 叙述与对话

　　引用故事情节中主要人物的对话是记叙文提高表现力的一种好方法。适当地用直接引语代替间接的主观叙述，可以客观生动地反映人物的性格、品质和心理状态，使记叙生动、有趣，使文章内容更加充实、具体。试比较下面两段的叙述效果：

　　i was in the kitchen， and i was cooking something. suddenly i heard a loud noise from the front. i thought maybe someone was knocking the door. i asked who it was but i heard no reply. after a while i saw my cat running across the parlor. i realized it was the cat. i felt released.

　　这本来应是一段故事性很强的文字，但经作者这么一写，就不那么吸引人了。原因是文中用的都是叙述模式，没有人物语言，把“悬念”给冲淡了。可作如下调整：

　　i was in the kitchen cooking something. “crash！” a loud noise came from the front. thinking someone was knocking at the door， i asked， “who？” no reply. after a while， i saw my cat running across the parlor. “it＇s you.” i said， quite released.